What is the name of your state? SC
When the trustee of a trust ignores the directives of the trust, are the repercussions only civil, or are they ever criminal?
My brother is trustee of my father's trust. He basically has used the trust for his own benefit. The trust says that my mother is to get all the dividends that are generated from a brokerage account. The account will then be disbursed at her death.
As soon as he got control of the trust's brokerage account, he opened a margin account, and lost hundreds of thousands trading commodities. He paid off some of the losses by selling stock. (Stock, I might add, that has appreciated $24 a share since he sold it!!!!) All the dividends that were supposed to go to care for my mother in assisted living are now going to pay interest on the the debt from the margin account.
My brother has no income and has been writing checks to himself (deficit checks from the brokerage account) to live off of. He has also ignored my requests for an accounting of the trust assets.
My question: I know that I can hold him civilly (is that a word?) responsible, but could what he is doing be criminal, as well? I'm trying to find an attorney, (I'm out of state), but in the meantime, I'd like to give him a warning that will get his attention. Besides changing trustees so that he can't do any more damange, what can be done to him? What are the penalties in situations like this?
When the trustee of a trust ignores the directives of the trust, are the repercussions only civil, or are they ever criminal?
My brother is trustee of my father's trust. He basically has used the trust for his own benefit. The trust says that my mother is to get all the dividends that are generated from a brokerage account. The account will then be disbursed at her death.
As soon as he got control of the trust's brokerage account, he opened a margin account, and lost hundreds of thousands trading commodities. He paid off some of the losses by selling stock. (Stock, I might add, that has appreciated $24 a share since he sold it!!!!) All the dividends that were supposed to go to care for my mother in assisted living are now going to pay interest on the the debt from the margin account.
My brother has no income and has been writing checks to himself (deficit checks from the brokerage account) to live off of. He has also ignored my requests for an accounting of the trust assets.
My question: I know that I can hold him civilly (is that a word?) responsible, but could what he is doing be criminal, as well? I'm trying to find an attorney, (I'm out of state), but in the meantime, I'd like to give him a warning that will get his attention. Besides changing trustees so that he can't do any more damange, what can be done to him? What are the penalties in situations like this?